A young and popular Democratic president is preparing to take over the White House, while a lame-duck Republican named Bush heads for the exits. Slumping Republicans are in despair; they've seen Democrats win majorities of almost 80 seats in the House and 15 in the Senate.

A snapshot of today's political landscape? Yes. But it's also a precise description of the predicament Republicans faced at the end of 1992, when Bill Clinton, not Barack Obama, was preparing to take over the presidency.

As low as the GOP was after that 1992 election, within two years it had roared back to take control of the House for the first time in half a century. The point is simple: Tattered as Republicans look today, it's easy to forget that they've been here before, and not so long ago, and recovered fairly quickly.

View Full Image Gov. Haley Barbour Associated Press

Gov. Haley Barbour Gov. Haley Barbour Gov. Haley Barbour

One who remembers it well is Haley Barbour, the current governor of Mississippi, who had either the great fortune or misfortune (it wasn't clear at the time which it was) of taking over as Republican National Committee chairman at the dawn of the Clinton presidency.

Having seen this play before, Gov. Barbour knows it needn't have an unhappy ending for his party. The script he followed at the time, in fact, may be illuminating for his party today.

But it's also a precise description of the predicament Republicans faced at the end of 1992,

No, no it's not, not even close!! The republicans had been out of power for forty years and the democrats were covered with slime. The republicans had better get to fixing some of the crap they broke, before they can claim they can run the country. The claims of the biggest porker in American history will not get you elected to spit.

I think we’re starting from a weaker point now than in 1992. W has done a lot to decimate the party and McNasty accelerated that decimation. We do have Palin on the horizon for ‘12, which is a good thing, and there are some other good governors around, but the Republican “brand”, as they say, as been run into the ground by W (and I’m not talking about Iraq which was the one good thing he did, but all that socialist spending) and there’s nobody in congress that I can see who is going to rise up like Newt and proclaim a Contract that the average American can get behind.

Not to mention that the “average American” is a lot more Hispanic than in 1992.

Things have changed. This is not 1992 all over again. Things are bleaker for conservatives and true Republicans now.

Good history. Hopefully, the GOP will learn something from it. Number one, it counts whose is in charge at the RNC. We badly need a Haley Barbour or Tom DeLay or Michael Steele at the helm, with a Gingrich or Gramm providing the ideas. And would it hurt to remember (at least til the Dems bring back the Fairness Doctrine) that Conservatives still dominate talk radio?

6
posted on 12/25/2008 5:34:17 PM PST
by tanuki
(Summum ius summa injuria. (The more law, the less justice))

I cannot believe that hard-working, prudent, Latinos, Blacks, Chinese, Indians, ... like paying confiscatory taxes any better than Caucasians. I would hope that conservative ideals and prudent behavior transcend race and culture.

Immigrants from many countries and cultures have embraced these ideas over time. Let's make the case for real conservatism that sets the expectation for each individual to do their best to carry their share of the load, knowing that they have neighbors who help during times that overwhelm our best efforts.

One HUGH difference between now and then.....There was LEADERSHIP then...now all we have is a bunch of chicken $hits running the party...will it change? Who knows...it will only happen if the RINOs are forced to the back of the bus....

In ‘92 we had lot of strong thinkers and leaders in Congress, e.g. Armey, Delay, Gingrich, Kasich, Paxon, Santorum; solid and smart veterans like Clinger, Hyde, and Solomon. Our bench is a lot thinner these days. Lot of work to do.

Good read and good ideas. But we have been adversely effected by immigration. we have lost our moderate and urban Conservatives. We are increasingly a party of Dixie and even losing there.we will need some help from Mr.Obama and I am not sure we are going to get it. We cant let history repeat itself. We are going to have to realize that our backs are to the wall and it is now or never.

The list of reasons why the GOP is in much worse shape is too long to mention here.

But, at the top of the list is this: the GOP itself. Conservative ideas and leadership in the party are about as rare as unicorns. And the prospects of finding any in the near term are about as likely.

Number two on the list, the Dems have learned from the last 16 years. The criminal behavior and election fraud orchestrated by them has grown tremendously; whereas the Republicans have developed not one iota more of backbone in fighting it.

I believe that the use of the government power and laws to suppress Republicans and conservatism in the next four years is going to be very frightening. These people are a lot more dangerous than the Clintons ever were.

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